OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) — The Oil Region Alliance is delighted that the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful program has selected the historic McClintock-Steele-Waitz House (aka Coal Oil Johnny House) as one of eight buildings in the state to participate in its 2015 Fresh Paint Days Pennsylvania.

This two-story wooden peg-n-post Greek Revival home has been owned by the nonprofit Oil Region Alliance since 1999.

Project sponsors are providing 20 gallons of exterior paint and related supplies to be used by local volunteers during September. This project is funded in part by a grant provided by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, Glidden Professional, and The Home Depot.

It was 14 years ago that the Coal Oil Johnny House was disassembled, moved from Waitz Road where it had stood since approximately 1850, and then reassembled at Rynd Farm at the southern tip of Oil Creek State Park where it shares a parking lot with a gift shop and boarding platform for the Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad, as well as the trailhead for the Gerard Hiking Trail and a canoe/kayak access area.

Volunteers will provide a new paint job using the same colors presently on this simple former farmhouse – white body, grey trim and window frames, and brown window sashes. Those are also the original colors, as indicated in photographs of the Culbertson McClintock Oil Farm which produced significant volumes of crude oil during the early oil boom period.

The scheduled volunteer work days will be Thursday, September 10 and Friday, September 11, with Tuesday, September 15 as a make-up date in case additional time is needed due to weather conditions or other factors. Volunteers are welcome to assist daily starting at 8:30 a.m., with no set concluding time designated since that also will be weather dependent. All equipment, supplies, safety gear, and light refreshments will be provided to volunteers on site, along with basic instruction as needed.

Interested individuals or groups who desire to assist are encouraged to contact ORA’s Vice President for Heritage Development, Mrs. Marilyn Black, 677-3152, mblack@oilregion.org to indicate their planned participation or for more information. Youth under age 18 must have parental permission and be accompanied by a parent or guardian while painting the Coal Oil Johnny House.